A taste of the Trans Canada highway

This was our second day on the road to Vancouver. We planned 3 training sessions during the commute to the West coast and today was to be the first. As we were driving along yesterday and today, I must say the paved shoulder looked like nothing more than a thin white line and the trucks were speeding along at 100 K/hr. Where was I supposed to ride? When we found a good pull-over location to unload my bike, I saw first hand from the side of the road how fast the trucks were moving and how much air they push ahead of them. Again I wondered how I could actually ride on the Trans Canada.


A stretch of the Trans Canada highway, courtesy of cbc.ca

For the first 30 or 40 minutes of the ride I was almost rigid, and when I heard that first truck coming up behind me, I hung on tight and just kept pedalling. Actually the impact was not too bad. The driver had moved all the way over into the oncoming lane to give me as much room as possible. Over and over this happened not only with the trucks but also the vehicles. Coming from the GTA where there is little allowance for the riders by the drivers, I was surprised and relieved, and became more comfortable very quickly. After a couple of hours my wife Carol and daughter Lindsay caught up in the support vehicle and to top off a great ride, Lindsay joined me for almost an hour for her inaugural ride on the Trans-Canada.

Later we repacked the bikes and continued our drive to Thunder Bay. It was a great day!